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Posted By: Erick Ochieng Otieno. Rating: 5 / 5. |
OPEN FORUM ON “YOUTH, ENVIRONMENT, AND TECHNOLOGY: Water and Sanitation.”
Getting together as youth is quite an important aspect of bringing development agenda for the youth and for the youth. It was such spirit that the open forum for the youth was such an inspiration to me.
Having longed for so long to meet fellow Kenyans involved in the actions towards changing the world, the Open Forum whose theme was “YOUTH, ENVIRONMENT, AND TECHNOLOGY: Water and Sanitation.” Organized by Patricia Sudi, the Country facilitator TIG Kenya came as a blessing to me and many other youth who had the chance to attend.
It provided the perfect opportunity for all of us get the chance to know one another and have some bonding with one another apart from just concentrating on the topical issues. This made the subsequent discussion very lively throughout the session. It also gave us first glimpse on the experience of getting in to various discussion committees to discuss matters affecting us as the youth.
The topic chosen, Water and Sanitation, was also very timely as it come just as the world is about to celebrate the world water day and at the same time many still having a lot of problem in accessing clean, safe, and affordable water for basic needs. The most eye catching sub-topic was the one that addressed water resource as a human right issue. After this had been addressed, we then had to discuss on the benefits of taking action. This had various responses from the participants. The last issue was the question whether the water crisis was to be taken as an emergency case.
All these issues touched right in to the heart of any water activist and any persons calling themselves champions for human rights. This is because just as it emerged from the discussions, many agreed that water indeed is a human rights issue and should be addressed just as any human right is addressed. Without water, no life could be supported, this did not amount to just having any water, but clean, safe and affordable water for all.
The question of the benefits of taking action also brought about fundamental aspects for me and I bet, for other participants as well. This highlighted the many issues that have been raised such as the results for not acting. This was like answering a question with the answer for another question such as, “If we don’t act, what are the consequences?” I was glad to here how many of the fellow participants tackled the question as they were just right as most realized the need to prevent our water towers among other measures. By highlighting the consequences of not taking action for all this time, we were able to come up with the answers for the topical issue.
Many felt that, indeed, the water crisis should be made an emergency case, so that we can draw attention to all stakeholders on the need to act to avert the crisis. This may take some time and resources, but with the total involvement of the youth and at the same time channeling the most required resources to the neediest projects such as the area of water resources and sanitation, I believe the battle will have been half won.
Other participant also addressed the issue of poor sanitation of our habitats and the health problems they posed. This came out very clearly and one could not help but wander whether there has been any effort at all to address the concerns of those affected, especially in the slam areas.
Technology also could not go untouched. There was an attempt to link parts of the solutions and problems to the ever rising technological knowledge. Many problems it was argued were due to technology and at the same time, ironically, many solutions were expected to be technology based.
These however were not all and thus there was need to keep on coming together as youth to ponder on issues touching on our future survival and those of the coming generations as well. Spreading the gospel was therefore an easy task as those whom I approached were delighted to part of the ever growing organization that Inspires, Involves, and Informs.
Some clips can be accessed through this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6EKtTfXEuM
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